If you love where you are renting and prefer to stay long-term where you are – it may be handy for work, school or leisure activities – a long-term lease might be right for you.
What is different about a long-term lease?
You can use the existing agreement (Form 1, which can now be used for both short and long-term leases) or the new Form 2 for long-term leases.
Note: Form 2 offers additional benefits, some of which are listed below. Find out more on the Long-term leases page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: consumer.vic.gov.au/LTL.
Rental bonds
The landlord can ask you to top-up the bond amount after five years, if there are at least five years remaining on the lease.
Rent increases
The landlord can increase the rent every 12 months and you both can agree on how the increase will be calculated – this may be by a fixed dollar amount or percentage, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or State-wide Rent Index (SRI).
Property modifications and inspections
The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse your written request to make minor modifications to the property (these are listed in the lease agreement).
Your landlord or property manager can inspect the property every 12 months.
Breach of Duty
In a long-term lease, the landlord or tenant can apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for a compliance order after serving one Breach of Duty notice. In a short-term lease, the landlord or tenant can only do this after giving the other party three Breach of Duty notices.
Ending a long-term lease agreement
The landlord cannot shorten the term of the lease agreement unless you agree, or you break one of the rules that allows the landlord to give you a notice to vacate. You or the landlord can still apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) if either of you needs to end the lease early due to hardship reasons.
Find out if a long-term lease is right for you
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s new navigation tool can help you decide whether a long-term lease is right for you.
How to get a long-term lease
If you are happy with your current tenancy arrangement and would like to continue it for more than five years, speak with your landlord about switching to a long-term lease. Negotiate the terms of the long-term lease agreement before ending the existing lease.
If you are looking for a landlord who is interested in signing a long-term lease, you can create a ‘renter resume’ on rent.com.au and select the ‘long-term lease’ option to show you are interested in renting a home for more than five years.
For more information, visit the Long-term leases page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website: consumer.vic.gov.au/LTL.
